


Kitty Comfort

by IronSwordStarShield (SweetFanfics)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Cat Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pining, magical animal transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-14 00:41:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20591795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetFanfics/pseuds/IronSwordStarShield
Summary: Steve wakes up in the middle of the night due to a nightmare, accidentally waking up cat!Tony, who proceeds to help Steve fall back to sleep.





	Kitty Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> @black1cherry1 on twitter very kindly allowed me to write this fic inspired by [this BEAUTIFUL fanart of Steve napping with cat!Tony](https://twitter.com/black1cherry1/status/908957347409625088) ; v; 

While sleeping, Steve runs hot and usually winds up dumping half the bedding to the floor without fail. What this tends to mean is that when he has a nightmare about being trapped in the ice, he’ll wake up feeling cold as well, goosebumps all over his body, and will blindly pull the blankets back up to cover his shivering body. Sure he could ask JARVIS to just raise the room temperature but… somehow that feels like it would be losing the fight. Don't ask him what fight though because he doesn't know.

He goes through the same internal debate tonight as he bends over the side of the bed and blindly roots around in the dark for something to cover him. The quilt's gotta be down here somewhere. His fingertips hit his slippers, his overly long phone charging cable, and lots of thin air. _What the hell? _Steve thinks muzzily, hand moving towards the bedside table lamp. He's going to need some fucking lights to see where the fuck had he thrown the quilt away.

He realizes he's made a mistake when a sleepy “merp?” comes from the cat bed tucked between the wall and his dresser. _Whoops_. He'd forgotten about the fact that they'd put Tony's transformed shape into his room tonight. 

Steve winces as Tony, who is presently stuck in the form of a graceful black and white feline, sleepily peers at him. “Sorry. I… I’m sorry.”

Tony’s yellow eyes shine like topaz in the soft glow of the lamp. Despite being a cat, the man hasn’t lost any of his gracefulness or his expressive expressions. He looks huffy and sleepy at the same time. He shifts out of his curled position, flexing his claws before rising up on all fours, back arching sharply. Assuming that Tony’s going to face away from the light and go back to sleep, Steve looks around the bed. He reaches for the quilt and grabs it right as the bell on Tony’s collar chimes sweetly.

Looking up, Steve sees Tony doing a hard but lazy stretching of his limbs before he begins a lazy amble towards the bed. “Tony,” Steve begins, not sure if he wants to apologize or tell Tony to stop but Tony walks up to the end of the bed, hiding temporarily from Steve’s sight. Another sweet jingle and Tony's hopping into the bed, making a beeline for Steve.

Frozen in uncertainty, Steve clutches the pale sheets in his lap and watches Tony sleepily walk up to him. He’s not sure what’s Tony planning to do or what he’s thinking but Steve’s _definitely _not expecting Tony to butt his head into Steve’s elbow and drag his face along the underside of Steve’s forearm. Confused, Steve raises his arm and asks, “What?”

Path cleared, Tony steps into Steve’s lap. He kneads his paws into the soft cotton of Steve’s sweatpants before he pushes himself up on his hind legs, front paws pressing into Steve’s chest with just enough pressure to remind the blond of Tony’s claws. Eye to eye with Tony's sleep filled but stern golden eyes, Steve blinks and asks, “What do you want me to do?”

The pressure on his chest intensifies a touch as Tony leans in to rub his face against the underside of Steve’s jaw with a heavy purring meow. Tony repeats the gesture against the other side of Steve's jaw. Steve tentatively presses one hand against Tony’s back to feel the purring sensation and starts to feel calm sinking into him.

“Do you want me to lie down?” Tony immediately nods, long, long, tail swooshing in clear delight.

Nodding, Steve lies back down, this time with his sheets in tow. As he rearranges them over his body, Tony slides off Steve’s lap and sits primly next to Steve’s pillow, observing Steve work. Once he’s satisfied, Steve turns to eye Tony, asking aloud, “You gonna sleep too?”

A heavy “meow” is his answer, which Steve is choosing to understand as yes. So he turns the light off with a murmured, “Good night.” and rolls over to face the other side. As he inhales deeply, Steve expects to hear the sound of Tony jumping off the bed and walking into his temporary cat bed. Because that’s where Tony’s supposed to be sleeping. In the morning, they're going to go back to figuring out how to help Tony return to normal. So imagine his surprise when he feels the mattress sink, small cat paws moving towards his body instead of away to the edge of the bed. 

His eyes fly open when he feels Tony’s small, warm, fluffy body plop down against his stomach, purring so loud Steve can hear it without his enhanced hearing. He can’t help but look down but there’s almost nothing to see. He can barely make out Tony’s white muzzle and chest hair in the darkness. But, Steve realizes, that part doesn’t matter. What matters is that he can feel Tony’s heat, the softness of his fur, the comforting rumble of his purrs.

Shifting so that he’s lying partially on his stomach, Steve drags a gentle hand down Tony’s back and whispers, “Is this your way of helping?” Tony’s wet nose touches the inside of his arm, sending a ticklish sensation running up Steve’s back. Which turns into a full giggle when Tony’s rough tongue sweeps out for a quick, kittenish lick. “Thank you Tony.”

Tony’s tail thwips and slaps a couple of times on the bed before Tony lets out one final wriggle before he stills under Steve’s hand. Steve finds himself wishing he could duck down and kiss Tony’s head. Or hug him. Just do _something _to show his appreciation for this small show of help. 

Closing his eyes, Steve holds onto the fantasy of when Thor will return with Loki in tow and Tony will turn back into his handsome human self. And _then _Steve’ll _really _show his appreciation. The idea has his cheeks turning warm. Burying his smile in his pillow, Steve promises himself that he won’t take the cowards way out this time. He’ll ask Tony out, no excuses. 

**Author's Note:**

> Informal follow- up: i was thinking that steve probs decides to give tony some space despite wanting to thank Tony or his help cuz he figures that tony’s going to feel embarrassed ( steve never would have thought he’d enjoy having a 10 pound cat sleepin on his chest. it was comforting)
> 
> later, steve’s working in his office when someone knocks on the door. he looks up and its tony standing in the doorway, lookin relaxed and handsome in a tshirt and jeans that’ve seen better days, smiling a little as he asks steve what’s he glaring at? 
> 
> steve turns the screen to show tony, heart racing when tony moves to stand behind steve’s chair and leans in. his stomach does a nervous flip when he catches a quick whiff of tony’s cologne, almost forgetting where he is because GOD he wants to lean in and-
> 
> but he gets jerked out of his fantasy when tony laughs, shaking his head at the report steve just showed him. he says something about he’s written better reports with a concussion but all steve can think about is how close tony is and how much hes loved how affectionate cat tony was and is tony, underneath all his masks and confidence and… is he the same? if steve held his hand out, would tony accept it with the same gentleness? if he cupped tony’s face, would tony’s eyes fall shut?
> 
> steve doesn’t realize that he’s staring though. not until tony murmurs, “you’re staring. is it that weird that i’m back to being myself?”
> 
> “not at all,” steve says, voice so dry and rough his vocal chords may as well have been replaced with sandpaper. “i was just thinking. as much as i’m glad to have you back? im still going to miss it.”
> 
> there’s the laziest, slowest curl of tony’s lips as he shifts, moving to lean against the table and face steve. steve feels pinned in place as tony stretches his legs out and asks, “you liked me as a cat, huh?”
> 
> steve bites his bottom lip, not sure where all this honesty is coming from (hope, it has to be so much hope) when he admits “yeah. i did.” but he holds back on gushing on how much he loved it that tony would fall asleep in his lap, crawl into his bed to rest on top of his feet. even how tony would nip on his nose to wake him up when it was chow time. he’d loved that despite becoming a cat and losing his voice, tony hadn’t lost his tony-ness. 
> 
> but he realizes he doesnt want tony to think that hes not glad that tony’s back to being tony, and hurriedly says, “but im really glad Dr. Strange was able to change you back.”
> 
> That lazy smile grows into somethin a little more sly when tony asks, eyes sparkling, “is that right?”
> 
> steve’s heart is holding its head and screaming because is tony straight up flirting with him right? can someone confirm this please? because LOOK. steve’s seen tony turn his charm on many a hapless person. and now? now that look’s being directed his way. and his hope cup is fit to overflow, oh no. too late, its spilling golden sticky honey all over steve’s soul. which turns out to be a good thing because it gives his courage just enough to a nudge to make his hand reach out and curl gently around tony’s wrist. 
> 
> he should say thank you for helping me you didnt have to but you did and i appreciate it you made those dark awful nights a little better with your warmth and presence and i cant thank you enough for that please let me make it up to you but what comes out instead is “go out to dinner with me”
> 
> and oh. look at that. he’s just surprised tony stark. the shock is CLEAR in tony’s eyes as the charm seems to just dissipate. its like the mist clearing, leaving behind just a very happily startled tony stark who blinks down at him and asks “like a date?” asked cautiously but hopefully.
> 
> steve’s happy to clarify, “yeah. like a date.”
> 
> and oop. theres a touch of suspicion in tony’s eyes when he asks “why now?”
> 
> which is a fair question. steve rubs his nose with his free hands’ index finger and mumbles, “i was actually plannin’ to ask you out the day you got turned.” and seriously . he WAS. like okay he’d pushed it off to the end of the day cuz he’d been ABOUT TO ask tony when the avengers alert had gone off and they’d flown down to investigate the mysterious green glow hanging around central park and then tony’d turned into a cat and he couldnt have asked tony then, surely.
> 
> thankfully, something sparks in tony’s memory because he whispers, “so thats why you… oh God you were going to ask me out in the kitchen weren’t you?”
> 
> steve flushes in remembers nad how he’d stammered half a sentence out but nods.
> 
> tony stares at him like he’s… well. steve doesn’t know. its just wondrous and amazed, and steve squeezes tony’s wrist and asks, “will you go out on a date with me tony stark?”
> 
> and gosh hes so relieved when tony smiles back at him, his REAL boyish and just a little crooked smile! and says, “i’d love to.”


End file.
